We had a great vacation in Nova Scotia last week. We spent a little time on Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, and the Eastern/Northern shores of Nova Scotia--basically, Halifax area. Both my husband and I had been there on family vacations as kids (my family went twice that I recall), but we had never gone together. It's just a lovely as I remember and, of course, we both probably appreciated the scenic views a lot more as adults. ("Dad, when are we going to stop driving???")
Here's my Steller album of the trip.
We got home around dinner time on Friday so we'd have all weekend to regroup before heading back to work. On Saturday, I spent about four hours straight doing embroidery. I'd taken my current project with me on both my work and vacation trips with the goal of having it finished by the time I got home--I didn't get as much embroidering time as I'd hoped, so now I'm doing a full-court press this weekend so I can take it to the shop for framing tomorrow or Tuesday.
This morning, my daughter and I decided to head to a big flea market about half an hour south of us. It opens at 6:30a. Neither of us is that dedicated. We got there around 8:30a and it was not really crowded at all, but by the time we left at 10:30a, I was thrilled to be heading out of the parking lot instead of into it.
She achieved her main goal: She's got a yen to try her hand at refinishing furniture, as well as knowing it may be the most cost-effective way for her to furnish an apartment whenever she gets to the point of being able to afford to move out. She picked up this very nice little cabinet--and didn't do too bad a job bargaining, although neither of us is that agressive about it.
It's got nice bones, and really interesting dove-tailed joints that are a dove-tail-esque design I'd never seen before. She's debating several options about how she'll redo this--I'm looking forward to seeing what she finally decides on. She's waiting until I head to my on-campus weeks at BU so she can take over my side of the garage for the refinishing process.
I didn't have any firm thoughts in mind about what I was looking for. I was just along for the fun. I did miss out on a little folding cabinet kind of thing--about the size of a small briefcase--that would've been great embroidery storage, something that looked nicer in the family room than my current collection of bins and bags. Since I'd have had to do some work to it for it to really look nice and I'm just not sure I have the time to do that these days, I decided I'd think about it instead, knowing it would likely not still be there when I went back (thereby making my decision for me). When we made our way back to that corner of the flea market again, sure 'nuff, a woman was looking at it. The only thing that burns me a bit is that I'm quite sure I heard the vendor tell her it was all of $2.00. Well, dang. I know the cardinal rule at flea markets is to pick it up when you see it because it's most likely not going to still be there later. I just wasn't 100% convinced it would really be all I was hoping it would be once I got it home. So I'm okay. But still. $2.00. Dang.
I consoled myself with tchotchke.
The citrus juicer in the handled bowl came home with me for $6. Saved a whole dollar--can't you stand it? My daughter and I immediately noted how much easier this will make my next margarita party, as I do margaritas from scratch with fresh-squeezed lime juice. I won't pony up for an electric juicer, but this will be a step up from my hand-held juicer.
The four bracelets were from a jewelry designer vendor. I have a love-hate relationship with bracelets. Love the way they look, can't stand to wear them. They drive me nuts when they bounce all over the place or bang on my keyboard while I'm typing. I only manage to wear them for about 10 minutes before I yank them off in frustration. I have high hopes for these! They're actually elastic but done in such a way that you can't see any of the elastic between the beads when it's on (and my wrists aren't as small as they used to be). It fits very comfortably, but doesn't roll around on my wrist; they're also really light-weight. I was in love the first time I tried one on. I wore the blue one all morning and kept even forgetting I had it on--it was that comfortable!
The other little bottle is just an aromatherapy blend named "Breathe," that smells better than the current "Breathe" blend I've been using. Sinuses, donchaknow.
Then I hit the vendor selling warehouse summer tops and dresses.
The dress is of a fabric that would also be fine over a swimsuit, so good for poolside lounging. Not that I'll have a lot of time for that this summer, but a girl can dream. And it was only an $8 dream.
The silk wraparound skirt can supposedly be worn "100 different ways." I tried three of the ways demonstrated on the tag. Nope, it'll just be a skirt. It's two skirts layered over one another so if nothing else, it's reversible. And it was $10. So I don't mind the 98 other ways I won't be wearing it.
And this pretty embroidered shirt has ties in the back to give it a little more shape, but I like the looseness of it.
I'm wearing the $8 dream now. I have hopes of lounging poolside later this evening. If the bugs don't drive me away.
So that's my adventure of the last few weeks. I'm actually going to be in a routine between now and August 4 when I head off to campus. Routine is good. You might hear from me a little bit more.
But for the moment, I'm off to pick up the embroidery needle again...